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Dassault Rafale C F.4.2 - Ready in record Time
Hi and welcome to my 111th suggestion, which is about the Dassault Rafale C F.4.2, hope you like it. 
First of all:
- Feel free to share more Information and / or correct me if something is wrong
- Discuss respectfully, any aggressive kind or verbal abuse will be reported, the Forum rules also apply here
Background History
In 1977, the Armée de l’air took up the idea of a modern fighter aircraft, now to be put into service after 1990, under the project title Avion de Combat Tactique (ACT). The aim was to build on the ACF project and adopt the design as a twin-engine delta aircraft with fly-by-wire control. A year later, the Marine Nationale launched the Avion de Combat Marine (ACM) project to finally replace the F-8E(FN). In 1979 there was talk for the first time about merging the two French projects and the projects from Great Britain and Germany into one European project. All three companies involved – Dassault, MBB and BAe – each developed their own design for this European project.
In 1983 the EAP (Experimental Aircraft Program) prototype was presented, developed under the auspices of BAe and combining BAe’s ACA (Agile Combat Aircraft) design with MBB’s TKF90 design. Dassault, on the other hand, presented its own revised design in 1983 based on the ACT and ACM under the name Avion de Combat eXpérimental (ACX). Although the inability to agree on a design was already evidence of significant differences, two cooperation agreements for the development of a European Fighter Aircraft (EFA) were signed in late 1983 and late 1984 between Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy and Spain. By this point, a few basic principles had been agreed upon: Canard delta design, two engines and Fly-by-Wire (FBW) control.
Despite this, it was still not possible to agree on uniform specifications or on the division of labor. France wanted a smaller, cheaper, multi-role fighter with strong short-takeoff capabilities that would be better suited to operations from the relatively small French carriers and should have better export prospects, while Germany and Great Britain wanted a fighter that was as capable and agile as possible.
In August 1985, the negotiations finally failed, whereupon the French Defense Minister at the time, Charles Hernu, announced that France would withdraw from the EFA program and develop the ACX on its own until it was ready for series production. The remaining four nations developed the EFA into today’s Eurofighter.
After the decision in 1987 to further develop the Rafale A into a series aircraft, the contract for development with an industrial consortium was signed on April 21, 1988. In addition to Dassault, this consisted of Thomson-CSF (today Thales Group) and Snecma (today Safran). For further testing, four near-series prototypes were built, which were equipped with extensive test instrumentation. The first to take off was the only Rafale C 01 airforce single-seat aircraft - a second prototype of the airforce single-seater was canceled - on May 19, 1991. On December 12, 1991 and November 8, 1993, respectively, the two naval single-seater prototypes Rafale M 01 and M 02 flew for the first time.
On April 30, 1993, the only airforce two-seater, the prototype Rafale B 01, took off for its maiden flight. In 1993 the first prototype of the RBE2 radar, which had been developed since 1989, was delivered.
In 1997, the flight test program ended and series production began. On December 4, 1998, the first series aircraft took off for its maiden flight, the two-seater B 301, in the presence of then Defense Minister Alain Richard.
Armament of Rafale C F.4.2
The F.4.2 standard brought only small changes with it - so far we know it gets Link 16 Block 2, CAPOEIRA, and SATCOM for improved interoperability in NATO and coalition operations, while TRAGEDAC enables passive target detection without emissions in A2/AD environments. The flexible switch between EMCON and high-performance radar operation increases survivability against modern air defense systems such as S-300/400 - Main new antenna of the Communication System is also the main external visual difference compared to previous F.4.1 and F.3R.
In terms of armament, the new MICA NG, which has already been in stock for not too long, is now ready for serial use, with improved seekers and longer range.
Whether the newly developed AASM-XLR or future RJ-10A, SmartGlider, SmartCruiser and Meteor MLU will be compatible to this standard is unknown - but would most likely become available with F.4.3 and F.5; said to be more SEAD focused.
Whether a new Radar has been installed is currently not confirmed - though according to some, it may already be equipped with RBE2-XG, which is allegedly also planned for India’s F.4 order.
Air-to-Air Missiles
- 8x MICA NG IR
- 8x MICA NG EM
- 8x MICA IR
- 8x MICA EM
- 4x Meteor
Guided- / Dumb-Bombs
- 6x AASM-250 (GPS / -L / -IIR)
- 3x AASM-1000
- 6x GBU-12
- 4x GBU-16
- 6x GBU-22
- 3x GBU-24
- 6x Mk.81
- 6x Mk.82
- 4x Mk.83
Air-to-Surface Missiles
- 3x SCALP-EG
- 1x AM39 Block II Mod.2
Specifications, Electronics and Internal
- Crew: 1
- Length: 15.27 m
- Wingspan: 10.90 m
- Height: 5.34 m
- Wing area: 45.7 m^2
- Empty weight: 9.850 kg
- Loaded weight: 15.000 kg
- Max. takeoff weight: 24.500 kg
- Powerplant: 2x SNECMA M88-2E4
- Dry thrust: 50 kN
- Thrust with afterburner: 75 kN
- Maximum speed: Mach 1.9
- 1400 km/h at sea level
- 2130 km/h at altitude
- Service ceiling: 18.000 m
- Rate of climb: 310 m/s
- Wing loading:
- Max.: 381 kg/m2
- Thrust/weight:
- Max.: 1.50
- Maximum g-load: +9g / -3.2g
Learn more about the Dassault Rafale here:
Thanks for your time, hope you liked it 
[Will add more if there are some (more) important / declassified things]
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Sources:
Links
https://www.dassault-aviation.com/en/defense/rafale/introduction/
https://www.dassault-aviation.com/en/defense/rafale/specifications-and-performance-data/
Dassault Rafale vs. F-35: More than Just Selecting a Combat Aircraft - Politics Today
dassault rafale: Latest News & Videos, Photos about dassault rafale | The Economic Times - Page 1
Dassault Rafale 4th Generation Multirole Fighter Aircraft
Caractéristiques du Dassault-Aviation Rafale M [in french]
French Rafale F4.2 Fighters Begin Operational Service with collaborative combat link
Books / Other:
Eurofighter Typhoon & Dassault Rafale by Greg Goebel (2016)
Jane´s All the World´s Aircraft 2011 - 2012
Jane´s All the World´s Aircraft 2007 - 2008
Jane´s All the World´s Aircraft 2000 - 2001
Modern Fighter Aircraft - An Illustrated History of War Planes from 1945 to the Present Day by Francis Crosby (2004)
Canard Aeronautics & Rocket-Powered Aircrafts by Roselle Rosen and Gisele Fowlkes